Essay Sample on Dominican Republic: A Blend of Cultures & Traditions

Introduction

The Dominican Republic culture consists of individuals from different part of the world such as the native Taino Indians, Spanish colonists, and the Africa slaves. The different areas of culture are unique and make the Dominican people proud such as the dance and music. The diverse and colorful Merengue and Bachata are the great symbols in the Dominican culture. The Taino Indian words are utilized in the Dominican language and their food while the elements of African culture are felt in the dance and music called the merengue. The great family structure has made cultural characteristics such as the cuisine, holidays and the Dominican customs to remain strong despite the waves of upheavals in the society. Therefore, due to the presence of diverse groups in the Dominican Republic, this paper will focus on how the Dominican Republic culture approaches health, business, and education.

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Culture's Approach to Business

The Dominicans are traditional whenever they are carrying out the business practices since altering decision making among the Dominicans is challenging. The Dominican tend to be conservative to their ancient decisions and procedures. The family owned and operated business are the essential types of firms among the Latin Americans. The Dominican are adapted to surviving in a society which trusts only the members from their community. In the Island, business is controlled by a small family group such as the Brugal which control rhum, Armentors control textile and machine business, Moya controls constructions, and the Corripio controls media and distribution business. The groups came from the Spanish settlers who own most of the prominent organizations which are responsible for shaping the business culture that is controlled by the personal ties in the Dominican Republic (Badia Diaz, 2011). The advantage of the family business controlling most of the industrial sectors is that it helps in denoting power within the company and developing a strong influence on the way business is conducted by the Latin Americans.

Consequently, the managers who are present in the family businesses have a vast knowledge regarding their businesses since control and ownership remain in the same family. The families who control markets are respected by the societal members thus setting the basis for the economic activities conducted on this island. The Dominican businesses experience the challenge of moving away from the old ways of carrying out businesses and finding a way of creating diffusion of power. Decision making in a family ran business difficult since the management cannot share ideas with outside individuals (Badia Diaz, 2011). Also, the family member who controls these businesses remain unquestioned since they are respected members of the family thus making decision making to become difficult.

Culture's Approach to Education

The ancient Dominicans acquired an average of six years in school which different from the ten years of schooling in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) countries. In the Dominican Republic, the most educated individuals are the rich and powerful while the illiterate persons are the poor. The social hierarchy of people in this country is determined by their skin coloration where the Africans are the unalloyed minority thus tainting their social status (Schumacher, 2010). Among the population present in the Dominican Republic, the mulatos and the whites are the highly educated making them have senior positions in the country.

The primary education system in the Dominican Republic tends to be free and compulsory whether the state or private learning centers provide it. The pre-school last for one year and then six years in primary school. At the middle school children study in the for two years which acts as a bridge for furthering their education. Since most of the subjects are academic, the ill-prepared children from weak areas experience difficulties in accessing education. Also, the secondary school in the Dominican Republic lasts for four years thus encouraging the upper and middle-class teenagers to have aspirations for acquiring tertiary education. The more impoverished scholars from the society experience challenges in completing the secondary school and the one who do not succeed for tertiary education receive a bachillerato degree (Schumacher, 2010). The highest level of education this republic is the tertiary level and students who end up there acquire free education since it is government funded.

The schools in the Dominican Republic utilizes different learning styles which helps the students to acquire knowledge and understand what they are learning. In the pre-school teachers tend to use the visual learning aids such as pictures and images which improves the understanding of students. Also, in pre-schools, the teachers use the kinesthetic methods which makes the students differentiate between different sensations if the thing surrounding them. In secondary schools, the facilitators use a combination of the visual, verbal, aural and the physical learning styles hence improving the understanding ability among the students (Schumacher, 2010). Therefore, the utilization of various learning styles among the Dominicans students helps them to understand whatever they are learning enhancing their knowledge.

Culture's Approach to Health

The Dominicans possess various values and beliefs concerning their health and well-being in their society. It is essential for the medical providers to know the values and beliefs which are present among the Dominicans. The Dominican culture still believes in the use of the folk method for the treatment of various diseases. The herbs used can either be self-administered or given by the folk healer whom they believe can cure sickness and other illnesses. For example, the Latinos use the folk methods and the values which are linked to them so that they can mainstream the health system. This has made the Latinos value their folk healers and the use of the cultural folks such as herbs. Therefore, to provide health services which are corresponding to the culture of the Dominicans, the medical practitioner has to understand the values and belief of the Dominicans population. The Dominican belief system utilizes the kinship ties which possess the care practices and beliefs (Keys, Kaiser, Foster, Burgos Minaya & Kohrt, 2015). The factors which limit the use of modern health systems among the Dominican society is the lack of support from the informant's families. The programs which are developed to promote the health and well-being of women among the Latinos are supposed to include their families.

Conclusion

The Dominican culture has a significant influence on the education, health and the business sector among the Dominican Republic. The business sectors tend to be controlled by elite Dominican families who also manage the industrial sector in the Dominican Republic. The education sector among the Dominican Republic appears to be a bit modernized, but the major challenge which befalls education is lack of education for the disadvantaged groups. The Dominican population beliefs in their folk healers thus making the use of current prescriptions to be difficult in treating various diseases among the Dominican population. Therefore, enlightening the Dominican society on the modern ways of living will help to improve these sectors since they will have a different approach to education, business and health systems.

References

Badia Diaz, P. P. (2011). Cross-Cultural Influences on Management Practices: It's Impact on Distribution of Power, Leadership, and Communication. A Comparative Study between the Dominican Republic and the United States. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1770&context=honors_theses

Keys, H. M., Kaiser, B. N., Foster, J. W., Burgos Minaya, R. Y., & Kohrt, B. A. (2015). Perceived discrimination, humiliation, and mental health: a mixed-methods study among Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic. Ethnicity & Health, 20(3), 219-240. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5e63/75757ab4d2bb10f59a92efa30c02514b8759.pdf

Schumacher, G. (2010). Culture care meanings, beliefs, and practices in rural Dominican Republic. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 21(2), 93-103. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5e63/75757ab4d2bb10f59a92efa30c02514b8759.pdf